A Hero's Work
by Apocalyptical Angel
Summary: Chloe becomes trapped in her apartment by a vicious fiend! Who to save her but team-mate and personal fantasy Oliver Queen? Tiny bit humourous/romantic and a dash of smut.


As sad as it is; I own NOTHING. All rights go to respective owners and I do not make profit from any work I publish on this site. Yey for me (!)

Anyway, so, this story comes from a lifetime of living with arachnophobia, and I figured since it's so bad for me... maybe I could twist it into something good for a change. This is not any underlying intentional poke at people with phobia's, nor do I intend to make anything too comical to be offensive to said people. I am terrified of multiple things myself so I do have experience with the glory of being scared motionless by an 8-legged terroist. Thankfully, I have the humour to laugh at myself (once the spider's been killed ofc). Hope you enjoy Xx

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><p><strong>A Hero's Work<strong>

There he was. Across the room. Her blue eyes refused to leave him for even so much of a second. It would give him time to run. Right now, he was locked in her gaze; nothing he did would go amiss.

She just needed to buy time. Oliver was meant to be coming with a flash drive of encrypted data for her to decode. Any minute now Oliver would walk in the door and it would all be over for her enemy. He'd be on his back before he could move. He'd be shown the door and thrown straight through it.

Chloe's eyes were burning with hate as she saw a twitch. Was he going to try something?

Her pulse played bongo's in her body thumping away at such a speed she was almost jittering. Everything inside her was alert and focussed in him. Her feet were ready for running.

It wasn't practical he had invaded her lull as she had only just stepped from the shower. But who really planned to attack when their victim wasn't vulnerable?

He had her pinned.  
>Had probably been watching her for days.<br>He knew her routine.

Her bare legs felt another water droplet slide down and drip onto her duvet. She adjusted her weight distribution, keeping balance as she stood on the bed armed with a baseball bat, waiting… just waiting for his wrong move.

Where was the hero when you needed him?

His leg twitched again and Chloe sucked in a breath, taking a step back on the bed. Fear was building and the fight instinct was having an all out battle with her flight for her next decision. As strong as she may be mentally, the flight seemed to be the only safe option.

She could run back to the bathroom, barricade the door till Oliver came. But would he still be here? Waiting for her the next time she was alone? He needed dealing with and he needed dealing with now.

She could feel the shakes in her bones as she stepped forward again to how she was before. You don't show weakness to these fiends. They delight in the terror they cause, they live for it. Your screams are just music to their ears. Their life span might not be long, but the little bastards breed armies to come and exact revenge. But this was the first Chloe had seen of the abominations and she was determined it would be the last. No more would she shake with fear atop her duvet, scared of moving so much as an inch and stirring his wrath.

Knocks came to the door and relief flooded her body. Her eyes went to the entrance.

"Thank God. Ollie, in the bedroom!" she called. Oliver was quick rounding the door and stepped round the frame before freezing, his eyes wide, trying to focus on the baseball bat she had, rather than the lack of clothing. He rose an eyebrow at her.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked with a chuckle and leaned against the doorframe, taking in her battle stance, with one arm still on the peach towel, the other gripped around the bat with white knuckles. "Because I think baseball season is over." he quipped.

"Please Ollie. Help. I was comi- oh god! He's gone." Fast little bugger, and now she had lost track of him.

"Who's gone?" Suddenly he didn't feel quite so calm, feeling a tension in the air and drawing in the extent of her battle pose. Was there someone else in the house with her?

"Andy." she simply answered and tiptoed across the bed, right up to the very edge, looking down at the floor.

"Andy would be…?"

"He lives in the apartment. Lois told me he had been around for years."

"You're being stalked?" Defensive protector of the people came out of him, scanning around the room.

"Yeah. I suppose you can say that. This is the first time that I've seen him. And I don't know where he's gone."

"What does he look like?" He didn't like the fear in her voice, it quivered something deep inside him disturbing all thought of ever finding happiness again.

"Huge. Absolutely massive. Hairy legs. And I swear he has these black beady eyes that stare straight into your soul." Oliver paused… something was wrong with that statement somewhere.

"Hairy legs? Just how much have you seen Chloe?"

"Shut up. They were massive. All of them practically bigger than my fingers." Wait. Legs as big as her fingers? All of them? Meaning more than two?

"How many legs does he have Chloe?" He had a sneaky suspicion Andy was no regular neighbourhood stalker.

"7 and a half. Lois managed to get him once."

"7 and a half." he repeated, letting everything slot together. He dropped the battle stance. "Is Andy perhaps a spider?"

"Well yeah. Unless you know anything else with 8 hairy legs that sneaks around my bedroom terrifying me."

Chloe's arachnophobia was note worthy. He'd never seen it first hand, but from what he'd heard it could get pretty ridiculous.

She knew it wasn't practical, and she knew it was laughable that she could face-off against prisoners of high security without so much as a twitch but this tiny creature could paralyze her with a single flash of movement.

Chloe chewed her lips, the worry evident. "I can't sleep here." she concluded, still on the bed and scanning all around.

"I don't see why not. It looks like it's gone. Come on." She shook her head. He sighed and stepped up to the bed, taking the baseball bat from her hand. "In all honesty, how big is it?"

"Huge!" she simply answered. He tilted his head, his no nonsense face taken out. "Okay. So it's not like the wall of china or anything. But it's bigger than most." She met his gaze again after another quick scan of the bedding and floor around her, making sure the trickle down her leg was just the dripping water of her semi wet hair and not the sneaky footwork of Andy. "Okay. You see the mirror on my dresser." He sighed and turned around to her dresser. "If you squished him with a steam roller, he'd stretch out to be that big from leg to leg."

"Right. So he's pretty big." he concluded. "Where did you see him last?" Her finger pointed out to the south facing wall, the shaking tip of it kept close to her in case he dropped from the ceiling and bit it off.

Oh, she forgot the ceiling!

She craned her neck up, her eyes roaming heavily over the smooth elegant white finish of the ceiling. 100% spider free. "Over here?" He stood by the wall and tapped the toe of his boot against it. Chloe jumped back a step at the sound. Her fingers to her mouth. If Oliver didn't catch it and kill it she'd never be coming back. She couldn't sleep knowing it was somewhere in the house with her. Watch and waiting for the moment to strike. Yes, she knew these types of spiders weren't poisonous, but it didn't mean they couldn't get infected with a rouge piece of meteor rock and suddenly start craving the meat of humans rather than flies. "There's a conker in the corner here." he noted.

"Yeah. I threw it at him."

"You threw a conker at him?" he asked, running over ways to keep her out of the mental asylum when he told people about this story.

"Urban legend says the oil of conkers is meant to be unpleasant to spiders. You're meant to place one in every corner of the room to keep it warded. I have the plug-in's as well."

"Clearly they aren't working." he replied and drifted along the wall. "Chloe it's gone. I can't see it."

"No. He was here. I saw him."

"I have no doubt you did. But now he's not here anymore. So how about getting dressed and we can go over these encrypted files. If he comes back I promise to beat him to a pulp." he swore.

"No mercy." she agreed. "I suppose I should get dressed." She didn't move though, instead the fingers went back to the mouth.

"You're not leaving the bed are you?"

"What if he's under the bed, waiting for me to leave."

"And what exactly is he going to do when he finds you Chloe?"

"I don't know. Pull knives out and slice me apart. What's if he's a meteor freak and wants my blood? I'm not exactly a spider whisperer. I don't know what they want with me except to get off on my terror." Oliver chuckled. A slipper hit him on the back of his head.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"Not helping. Pass me some clothes." He rose an eyebrow. "Yes Oliver. Open the draw pass me out some underwear and clothes so I can get changed."

"And how are you going to get changed? What if he comes back while you're getting dressed?" He was just teasing as he stepped toward the drawer, but he could have sworn she paled further. Her eyes scanned across the room.

She went up onto her tiptoes guiding Oliver in his search of her underwear draw. It felt a little wrong going through her clothes, but they had always had a flirty relationship and on more than on occasion they'd been showing skin to one another. Meteor freaks don't really care about modesty when they shoot at you; arm, leg, groin, chest. It's all the same to them. He knew for a fact that Chloe liked her matching underwear sets. His fingers fell onto a soft black lace bra.

"Yes Oliver. It's a bra. I have breasts; therefore I wear bra's." she deadpanned. "Grow up and pass them to me." He rolled his eyes and threw the matching set at her. She caught them skilfully and instructed him to her wardrobe to find some jeans. "No. Not those. The ones with… no. I'll change into these first." she finally concluded giving up on Oliver's poor navigation skills.

"What?" he asked her when she didn't move.

"Will you look in the bathroom?" she asked, almost guilty for having to be so dependent upon him. He laughed and walked up to the bed, sliding his arms under her bare legs and carrying her to the bathroom. She protested but allowed him to keep her off the floor while they both checked the area.

Having phobia's was debilitating and embarrassing, but there really was nothing she could do about it. She'd tried hypnotherapy, flooding therapy (not nice at all) and a step by step process of introduction. It had helped her deal with the small ones. By that she simply meant she didn't scream the building down and with an aerosol can and a clear plastic vase she had no problem creating torture chambers for them. But when they got bigger and could fight back then issues started to arise and she couldn't even get within a foot of them without her body locking down or shrieks shredding the area.

"Clear." he announced and slowly set her on the bathroom floor. Her eyes scanned around again, making double sure. "I'll be stood outside."

"Could you keep looking? Make sure he doesn't get the jump on me when I come out again."

"Sure." he agreed, a smile playing across his lips. He closed the door on his way out and sunk to the bed. He understood phobias. Everybody had one. It was clowns for him, they freaked the hell out of him. It was nowhere near as bad as Chloe's and he knew how much she hated being torn down by them. He could at least avoid fairgrounds and carnivals and stay safe. But she was in danger everywhere she went.

Sighing he pushed back up and went back to the search. He dropped to the floor, checking under the bed. Boxes of journalism work were organised in order of dates. Chloe was a nester as well. Removing thing was only ever something she could do on the computer. That was only because she had a paper copy.

He ran his fingers over the boxes, finding one out of its line, the lid half off. It wasn't the same colours or shapes as they others either. He pulled it forward, flashing a look to the bathroom door. She'd be a while, he knew that much. She'd probably take half an hour to concentrate enough to figure out which way her bra went. He chuckled, shaking out the image of Chloe naked from his head. She was deliciously tempting, but she'd never go for someone like him. Hell, she'd stepped into his apartment with the moans of his one night stand vibrating against the walls. It broke down the sexual barriers between them, but they never took steps towards making anything from the rubble. Of course he wanted her; he _was_ male and he did have eyes. But he knew it was worthless cause.

He fished out the box, letting it sit in front of him. It must have been opened recently as well. The dust wasn't even given a chance to touch it, unlike the other numerous boxes. There were even drops of water fresh on it. She must have been fishing in it when she was '_attacked_'. He flipped the lid and his eyes went wide.

He'd stumbled onto more than just Chloe's phobia attack today. It seemed Chloe had other things deep inside her. Desires, for example. A pink vibrator for another. Warmth ran over him, did Chloe lay in bed sweating over some imaginary man with this between her legs?

He cleared his throat, his body suddenly feeling warn, his clothes constricting. His eyes confirmed the bathroom door to still be closed.

Who would it be behind her lids when she fantasised? Brad Pitt? Russell Crow? Or would it be closer to home? Clark? Him?

He swallowed and shook the thought away. His ego was tormenting him again with the impossible. Like he said, she didn't see him like that.

Still, Chloe pleasuring herself was pretty much the biggest turn on he could imagine. She must really need it as well. This thing had a piece for every need a woman could have and more settings than any man came with.

"Ollie?" her voice shocked him and the vibrator landed soft on the bed. "You see him yet?"

"Umm. Uhh. No, not yet. I'll keep looking." Looking at Chloe's personal box more like. Cherry lube? Never figured Chloe as a cherry girl. Strawberry; maybe. Peach; yeah. Maybe he didn't know all he thought he did about Chloe.

He changed that maybe to certainty with his next find. Handcuffs. Black velvet for the cuffs. Sterling silver chain.

"Ollie. I'm dressed. He's… he's not behind the door is he?" Ollie fumbled and slid her treasures back to their chest, shoving it under the bed neatly. Like nothing happened.

He composed himself, re-organising the jeans for an easier fit over his no longer completely soft state.

"Ummm. No. You're clear." He scanned the room quickly. Shit! Cherry lube left next to the bedside table.

"He's not on the ceiling?" He quickly jumped back, sliding open the first draw of the bedside unit and sliding it in with hair accessories and products. He'd put it back later when she was out the room.

The door creaked open before he could reply or remove the flush on his cheeks. Chloe looked up, down, left and right before tiptoeing to her wardrobe. Everything she did got a good look over, all directions scanned before she poked out her first fingers and tested a new area.

It made her embarrassment a little worse that the underwear he had chosen were not her everyday ones. The bra was balcony, the panties skimpy and didn't cover a lot of flesh. But she wasn't risking the chance of coming face to face with Andy just for modesty. Besides, Ollie had seen her before.

She shook out her jeans she chose, making sure Andy hadn't taken residence up a leg then quickly jumped her tiny frame into them. Her hands were on the buttons as Oliver cleared his throat.

"I'll ummm. Go check the kitchen."

"No!" She wheeled back. "No. You can't leave me." It was unbearable and weakening for her to say words, they hurt her pride as they slipped out.

"I… ummm, I'll just be around the corner." Her eyes pleaded him to stay. But he needed relief of his own.

Her unzipped jeans were showing the glide of her hips. The bra enhancing her bountiful breasts, drawing his eyes to her nipples. He couldn't stay and remain unaffected. "Coffee." he offered, suddenly enlightened by the idea. She chewed her lip but eventually nodded and let him go to make her a cup of hot life.

Chloe tugged on the first top she saw, after shaking for spiders first of course. Soft cream button up blouse. It didn't do anything with the black bra shining underneath, but it was better than nothing and she wasn't in the mood to dig through her drawers. Besides, like she said, Ollie had seen her before.

She wouldn't mind something to de-tangle the mess called her hair. After another room scan she was knelt back on the bed, her hand in the first draw of her bedside table. But what she found was not her hair brush. She flushed bright red. Had she forgotten and left it out? She swung down looking under the bed. Her box was still perfectly in place. She lifted the lid, tossing it back home.

Wait. '_Perfectly in place_'. She had left it askew in her rush to cover her tracks. She hadn't even touched the lube bottle.

Oh!

Her hands slapped across her mouth.

Ollie!

Oh god, she was so embarrassed. Sure, she had needs, she could accept that. And if her needs arose as she was towelling herself off she shouldn't apologise for that. But for Oliver to know this much, he shouldn't. Oh god, he wouldn't look at her the same.

Wait wait wait.

She stopped the panic attack rising again.

**He** had been the one rifling through her box. **He** had been the one to move her products. Oh, he would pay for his perverted ways.

…After dealing the with spider…

She shocked back awake and shook out her hair after swing back vertical, making sure Andy hadn't dropped from the ceiling to make a new home in it. Then, in the corner of the room, she saw her enemy.

"Ollie!" she squeaked, her back pressed to the bedpost, her hands wanting the baseball bat.

"What?" He poked his head back in and followed her gaze. He let out a low whistle. "Wow. He's a big one." he complimented.

"Don't just stand there. Whack him. Kill him. Destroy. Annihilate. Obliterate. Eradicate."

"Okay there Doctor Evil. I get the point. You got anything to catch him in?"

"No. No catching." she hissed in correction. "Killing. Whacking. Burning if you have to." He chuckled. "This is NO laughing matter. If he lives he will come back."

"Alright alright. Still, do you have anything I can catch him in that I can use to transport him to his method of death?"

"Ummm. There's a vase, but it won't hold him too well. There's aerosol if you want to suffocate him first. Bleach under the sink too." He rose an eyebrow at her.

"You've been planning this murder haven't you?"

"Don't mock me!" she hissed, hugging her knees and squeaking as a hairy leg twitched.

"Okay. Okay. Where's the vase?"

"Kitchen." she answered, but then changed her mind as he turned. "You can't leave me alone with him." He sighed and made his way to her on the bed.

"On my back."

"What?"

"Get on my back. You won't let me leave you and I can't get the vase without leaving the room. Get on my back. You're coming with me."

"Ummm. Okay." She untied her limbs from their lock. Eyes always on her terrorist till Oliver left the room and she directed him to the vase.

But when they returned… "Oh god. He's gone. Where is he? Ollie, we lost him."

"Okay. It's alright. We'll keep the vase with us and finish business. When he comes back we'll ambush him and he'll be history. Okay?" She just nodded and let him take her back to the kitchen table. Her laptop sat ready, the flash drive passed to her hands, the coffee following.

She sat on her chair, knees huddle up off the floor. A quarter of the time she looked at the screen and clicked. The other 75% was spent taking in her surroundings and spider checking.

"Chloe?" She jumped a little at his voice. "You work. I'll keep watch." She nodded but only dropper her percentage to 50% on each.

"It's a difficult key code. Where's this from?" she asked between glares at the floor and ceiling.

"Mercy."

"Any reason why you stole it?"

"I'm sure there was. But for now let's say it was just to prove I can."

"Fair enough reason." Chloe was more Chloe-like with a laptop under her fingers and coffee down her throat. "May take me a while." she admitted and took another sip of her mug.

"But you can do it?" She nodded quickly in confirmation, having little doubt. Very few things were too complex for Chloe's computer skills. "I think it's got some of Lex's old documents on. Considering the high level security I had to break to get it I hope it is anyway." She nodded again. Whatever the screen showed it had been at least 50 seconds since her last full room scan. Must be important.

"It's definitely Lex's files." she agreed. "But I can't get anymore till my software cracks her walls and lets me into the base of the encoding. It'll take a while."

"Alright. We'll find Andy."

"Kill." she corrected. The panic rising again.

"We'll find, _and then kill_, Andy."

"We should seal off the area. Make sure he can't escape and infect any other areas."

"Chloe. He's not carrying a deathly disease. He's just a spider."

"And clowns are just men in face paint." she retorted. The anger sparked something else. "Do you like cherries?"

Oliver choked on his reply.

"Yeah. Ummm, sure. Why?"

"I had this dream earlier with you in. There was this smell of cherries in the air." she teased, keeping pace behind him, the baseball bat back in her hands. It made her feel stronger somehow. The more he teased, the more she felt in control with the words to fire back at him.

"Me, huh? What…umm… where were the…" He gave in and restarted. "Cherries, huh?"

"Yu-huh." she confirmed. "I think it ended with me screaming though…"

"Screaming… interesting." he agreed. His jeans already uncomfy. She may as well just wrap her lips around his cock. It would provide the same reaction.

"I remember feeling really warm, all sticky and sweaty." she continued, stroking an absent hand down her throat, his eyes followed. "No idea what we were doing, but I woke up out of breath."

"Really? Fascinating." His control was slipping.

"Yeah." She feigned a pause. "Oh, now I remember. We were running from a monster. I think he killed me." She was toying with him mercilessly. "Don't know where the cherries came from though." she admitted.

"You finished?" he asked. She grinned at him, poking her head in the gap her made with her bedroom door. "You sure you want to come back in here?" She nodded, he felt her hair tickle his shoulder. "If you see him aim to kill."

"Don't need to tell me twice." If she could physically move that was… small problem, but unavoidable. His hand slipped into hers and he kept her behind him as he started moving out dressers to locate the fiend.

With its hiding place disturbed Andy ran out. Chloe shrieked and Oliver turned, slamming the vase against the floor.

Andy vs his prison.

Round 113. All with Lois at the offensive position.

Andy still held the champion title winning 112 times (and a half).

Again the vase went down and he dodged out. After a wild chase he went out of reach under the bed.

Chloe was shaking, backed against the bedroom door frame. Her entire colour paled. Adrenaline had been soaring in her body at such speed all she could feel was the locked muscles caught between fight and flight.

Oliver stepped forward, meeting her blank emotionless eyes and wrapping a strong arm around her. She crashed toward him and let him pick her up and away.

Her eyes scanned again. The bedroom door was shut, her feet dangling from the kitchen counter while Oliver ran a cold cloth over her forehead. Gradually blood was returning to her cheeks, removing the sickly pallor.

"Chloe?" Her eyes clicked up and registered again. "Hey. You feeling better?" Silently she made the tiniest of nods. Her fingers tried to find purchase against reality; instead they found themselves with the erratic shakes of a post-spider-scare. Tears started to blur her vision. How could she be so weak? She'd practically passed out from a panic attack because of one single spider. "Hey. No tears. Come on. You're strong Chloe."

"No. I'm not." She pulled her eyes from him, turning to the side.

"Yes. Now come here." He pulled her against him, her arms wrapped around his strong shoulders, her burning tears dropping to his shirt. She could feel his warm comforting hands on her back. It had been a while since she'd last felt the company of a man. Fighting in the pit for a note worthy name in journalism took most of her time, and dating seemed too foreign to her. Everything had changed since she last put on the light of 'single and looking'.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad for just the one night. Someone to hold her and tell her how special she was for the late hours of darkness. Someone who knew what they were doing, who could play a woman's body and know what to say to make her feel fabulous. Make her feel like she could do anything.

The power rush of the one night stand.

And here was a man under her hands, pressed to her chest. One that specialised in one night stands, one that knew both inside and out of a woman, one that knew how much she needed this.

Her arms wrapped closer, turning to press a kiss to his neck. His cologne invaded all her senses urging her on.

He felt her lips all the way in his toes, sending life flooding back to his overworked exhausted body. As much as he wanted this, Chloe was far from her right mind to make these decisions, and he wouldn't take her like this. He loved her too much to be a guilty memory.

"Chloe…" He didn't know how to finish the sentence so instead peeled her from his shape and met her eyes, finding some strength in the teary cheeks they created. "We can't."

"No. We can; it's pretty easy. You've done it before." She sighed, a breath to banish the tears, seeing her approach to be ineffective. "Please Oliver. Just one night. No more. No less."

"Chloe…" Again, the words left him. Something else took their place. Her lips stole his. She must have poisoned him with her taste because she suddenly felt him respond, clawing her body closer to his, his tongue breaking her barrier and plundering her mouth. He was soft yet demanding, fierce yet gentle, burning hot yet cool and controlled. He was everything for her.

Her legs wrapped around him, letting her sense float out of her head and her emotions take over. But there was that one little niggle that shot back up to the very front of her mind and she broke away. She couldn't lose control, not with this situation.

"Andy." she breathed. Ollie rose an eyebrow.

"You better be referring to that spider and not some other man." She breathed a laugh.

"Andy needs to go first." she insisted. The thought of them getting busy only to be interrupted by a 7 and a half legged freak was something she did not want. Not at all.

"Now?"

"Unless you wanting me freaking out in fear halfway through, I'd say yeah. Quickly as well." Oliver followed her line of thought with a nod. He had no idea how she retained any brains with such passion in a kiss, but he was grateful.

"We're not finished here." he agreed and she grinned. "Right. Time for Andy to go. You got any preferred method?"

"Just get him caught, we'll deal with him later. I want my bed back." Yet again Chloe's logic prevailed through the lust.

"Right." he breathed, she un-hooked from his legs and he took a step back. But it didn't take more than a mere second before he was back against the counter, stealing another deep kiss. "For luck." he explained, not that reasoning was needed. He had her, losing her suddenly felt too painful.

Her hand grabbed out to his wrist and she pulled him back again, her lips meshed against his, her tongue battling his for the dominance she lost last time from surprise.

"For haste." she spoke as she released him, her hands on his chest, feeling his muscles rise and fall with each desperate breath. He gave a cheeky smile and walked backward toward her sealed bedroom. The warzone for his next fight.

Chloe sat, nibbling her fingernails for the next 10 minutes of Oliver's '_here spidery spider. Come to the big bad spider catcher_.' Lot's of curses, bangs and other un-healthy noises sounded.

Finally, he emerged with one of Chloe's old make-up container, perfectly clear plastic cube with a 6 legged spider scaling the walls inside. Chloe jumped back a few metres when she originally saw it, then calmed.

"Where do you want the bastard?" Oliver growled, clearly whatever happened in there had him a little angered.

"Set him in the bathroom somewhere. I think I might drown him."

"Personally I think you should set him on fire and watch him squirm, but alright." Oliver returned, sans spider cube, and ran his fingers through his hair. Chloe's eyes widened. Just below his hair line there was a bleeding cut and the start of a major bruise.

"What the hell happened?" She jumped down from the counter, fishing the first aid kit. In all the years she had taken this out, never once had she used it on herself. It was always Lois's accidents, or one of her boys who had met the nasty end of someone nasty.

"There was a little incident involving a dresser corner and a spider that wasn't too manly to play dirty."

"Owch." she sympathised for her hero.

"Yeah well, the rules changed after that." he stated proudly. "This doesn't get back to the boys." He met her eyes.

"What, that you got bested by a spider?"

"I can always let him loose again if you want." he threatened, his pride ruling his vocal chords.

"Please don't. It's not my fault we got mugged on the way home and the five huge brawly attackers tried and failed to get the best of you." She batted her eyelashes as she spun the thread, not that she needed to. He was bought simply by her sweet lulling voice.

"Alright. I'll buy that. Andy stays caged." His anger faded instantly as Chloe's smile returned.

"Good choice. Now let me clean that out." He shook his head, instead lifting her back to her original position on the counter, his hands rested on her legs and pushing them apart. She let him have his way for a few seconds then a hand on his chest stopped him. He furrowed his brow, clearly asking what the problem was. "Two." Two problems… okay. "One; you really need to get that cleaned out. And two; you're umm… basically, your hands are covered in spider goo, you aren't putting them on me like that."

"Spider goo? I didn't even touch him." he laughed.

"Yeah. But you've touched things he's touched. Spiders walk in all sorts. You're all mucky." He took his hands from her, moving to the sink and under her keen eyes thoroughly soaped and washed them. "Now will you let me take care of that wound?" He sighed and let her seat him at her table.

She straddled his legs for ease and gently dabbed across the cut.

"This is standard medical procedure I'm sure." he noted, his fingers slipping under her blouse and around her back, drawing patterns. When her bra clasp got in his way his skilled reach had it snapped with ease and he rolled his fingers around the front. She gasped aloud at his cold hands on her nipples, trying to keep concentration on the task at hand.

"Ollie. Let me finish with- Oh god!" His head ducked under her hand, his lips through the thin blouse to find her pebbled nipple. "Ollie. At least let me take off- Oh!" His hands answered her request, pulling the blouse apart with one tug. Buttons skidded along the floor, clattering till they lost momentum. The torn material followed their path, the bra stripped off her and finally he had the real thing. She arched into him, his tongue lapping against her sensitive buds each in turn. The cotton wool dropped to the floor soundlessly, the bottle of antiseptic thumping down with it. Her hands wanting the freedom to tug him closer, to run wild across his back, in his hair, pushing back his own jacket then lifting up the shirt off him. She had vague thought in the back of her mind to be thankful the bottle was sealed before she dropped it but it was gone as soon as it came.

She squealed, suddenly finding herself elevated and moving back. Groans evidenced her protesting, she wanted him **now**.

"Bedroom." he answered to her objection.

"Floor." she replied. "Now." Her hands tugged on his back, wanting down. Now. Wanting him in her. Now.

He dropped to his knees, the carpet of her living area softening his descent. As her bare back met with the floor her hands scrambled down to the jeans, the button made easy work off and shuffling the well worn material down and off her legs quickly. Ollie was knelt between her legs, the blue of his boxers visible over the half off jeans, but he was making no more movement. It was clear he wanted her, perfectly clear. Why no speed?

"Ollie. Pants off."

"No. We can't. Chloe-" She raised up onto her elbows and stopped him in his inner debate of morals.

"I want you. As far as body goes, you seem to want me. So unless you have a valid reason for stopping; Consciences off, morals off, but more importantly; pants off."

"Chloe…" he lost his reason as soon as it came.

"Ollie. Sweetie." She pushed up, knelt before him, her fingers wrapping around his. "What's wrong?" Her libido was throwing itself against the walls wanting satisfaction after so long.

"This isn't a cheap one night stand Chloe. Not with you." His eyes met with hers, pleading for her reply. She wanted him, had for ages… but he wasn't commitment, she didn't want to force him to something he wasn't. Instead she evaded neatly.

"You really wanna play the label game? How about I take the horny label, and you can be either the best friend who saw my vibrator –yes, I know." He grinned, matching hers. "Or, you can be Mr talkative and emotions. Your choice."

"I hope you're not like this with all your best friends." he simply replied. She drew her fingers up each arm, sending shivers of lust through him, then over his chest, flowing down to finish that he started.

"Only the ones I name the vibrator after." Ollie rose an eyebrow, smirking as she slipped the boxers over his hips.

"Really?"

"What, do you want an award? You know how desired you are." He chuckled and pulled her fast to his chest, her breasts pressed against him.

"I know how much I want _you_. I know I'm not letting you go after today."

"You're going to kidnap me?" she breathed, snaking one hand around his neck and her lips following the same route. She didn't have time for chit chat. She needed him now. She'd waited long enough.

"I have a feeling you'd come willingly." he retorted.

"Hopefully I'll come more than once." she whispered a purr to his ear with a sinful smile. Her other hand traced a finger soft and light down his cock. Her thumb smoothed over his soft tip, spreading the pre-cum as she stroked his hard length. "Besides," Her innocent eyes flashed up to meet his. "I could always kidnap **you**. I have the handcuffs."

"So I saw." His hands slipped down her back, pushing off the barely there black panties, to knead against her ass.

"Hmmm." The clever witty remark was lost as he lowered them back down to the floor kicking off his jeans and boxers and her panties leaving them both vulnerable and careless.

"When you came out of the shower," he started, his long fingers diving between their bodies. He collected both her hands, pinning them in one, his other slipped further between to her warmth. He rolled the tips of his fingers in her wetness, then stroked up, to rub over her clit. "What were you thinking of?" he finished, slow circles driving her track.

"I was hot." she breathed, flexing her wrists against his stronger binding. "I was alone." She rolled her hips, wanting more from him. "I knew you were coming over, and I figured I'd attack you if I didn't get my kick then."

"Didn't think to wait? See if I wanted to play?"

"You, _oh_, you were already there, your hands all over me." Her eyes clouded with the envisioned lust drawing higher into reality.

"Like this?" he dipped a sole finger inside her, pulling fully out, then diving back in again. She nodded, arching her back from the floor, her eyes closed. "Then what would I do?" he asked, adding another finger to her warmth, feeling the stretch of her tight walls hugged to his digits.

"More." she purred, her pink lips a breath apart, her chest rising and falling fast in excitement. "Faster."

He obliged and plunged back his two fingers to her, curling up inside her and she gasped aloud as he moved inside her, fast, sharp and throwing her blood wild inside her body. More and more, faster, harder, blissfully demanding of her burning skin. Inside and out she felt the high she had only dreamt before. Breaths and moans skipped from her lips, her head dropping back to the carpet. All care was gone, she needed him just him.

He watched her writhe in the pleasure, a broken gasp musical to what he created then he was gone, all fingers out. She snapped her eyes open, a fierce fire smoldering with a heat indescribable, demanding to know his game. He flashed her a grin that could crack the Cheshire cat in two and his fingers returned, soft to her clit for two slow stimulating circles. She found her hands unexpectedly free, his head slipped down and his tongue flattened against her engorged clit. Quick flicks danced across her love button, her hands gripping to the threads of the plush carpet for some anchoring, she was so close to exploding, yet so far.

More.

God, all she wanted was a little more.

Two rough fingers rushed into her again, working against his tongue battling to be the one that split her apart in the slashing pleasure he was determined to deliver.

Her fingernails bit into her own hand, her eyes shut tight, her shallow breathing filling the room and she felt herself burst into bliss. Her darkest fantasy's coming true. All she knew was the white high spreading through her body claiming every cell as its own. It flooded her, invading her system and overloaded it with Ollie.

He watched with pride, feeling her rocketing as his mouth drank deep; his tongue lashing against her entrance in greed. He tasted and he writhed himself, no longer could the mental strength hold him back. He had to have her, to feel her walls around his cock, not his fingers, not his tongue.

Her hands tugged at him, she needed him even more, if that was even possible. Her mouth sought for his, no care for the taste of herself over him. She just wanted to feel that closeness, the way to rid herself of the gaping hole she knew would return when he left. She wanted to fill her mind with him, every inch, every taste, every thing she needed to play over and over. When he left, it would be all she had. No body pressed to hers, just the memory.

She crawled closer, pressing her hips to the need of his erection, feeling the delightful smoothness like silk over her skin.

His eyes met hers, his hands rolling the condom over his hard length. The barriers of questions were smothered down with a deliciously dark and kinky eye fucking. She felt his lubricated tip press to her and need consumed, no longer waiting for the valued permission or pleaded desire. Chloe took control, taking her body to knock over his and straddle him. She lowered herself slowly, hands on his chest, sinking with an echoed groan on his hardness. Rough fingers grabbed her hips guiding each rock of her body, her own fingers curled to claws over his chest. He didn't seem to care.

"Never figured you for the kinky." he breathed, stealing back control in her moment of pause. Her back hit against the floor gently, his hard muscles pressed as close as they could to her chest, nipples grazing delightfully against nipples. She grinned and wrapped her arms possessively around his neck, fingers in his hair.

"Hate to admit this." she spoke and sunk down possessively over his length, letting satisfaction of being joined rush her again. Her lips went to his ear, sucking his lobe before breathing out the rest of her words. "I didn't buy those handcuffs, or the vibrator… or the cherry lube." Oliver squinted his eyes at her, not wanting the dissection his brain offered of the words. She laughed. "That's the aftermath of telling the girls at work I'd been single for a long while." Now it was Oliver's turn to laugh, the shudders of his body thundered through her walls, vibrating her from the inside out.

"So the solution in the work place to not having a boyfriend is to buy a vibrator?"

"It is when you're out on a bachelorette night and drunk past anything resembling sanity." she admitted.

"Remind me to thank the girls." he purred and rolled his hips.

She clutched tighter, almost scared of losing him. She knew with all her mind that this was real, but she couldn't help feel a nagging sensation she would soon awake, that the carriage would become a pumpkin again and she'd be left empty and disappointed. Pushing down the worry she sealed his lips with a deep searing kiss and let herself be swept by the waves of sex. Here she had the man of her dreams and all she wanted was more, she berated herself. The man was C.E.O, vigilante leader and full time sex god, and she wanted to tag boyfriend to the list. Live in the moment Chlo, she told herself again and let the sensations shred through her. She could feel him all over her body, capturing her whole. He felt her kisses dropping off for the shallow breaths he recognised so sweetly. Her back arched involuntarily, pushing her breasts against him, her hands desperate for something to hold onto.

"Come for me Chloe." The words tugged her free and she felt the twist of her peak spring lose, her thighs grabbed tighter, her heels digging against him. Her cries of his name muffled against his shoulder, her lips pressed against skin. Her climax drew his and he stroked out his seed, the second skin of sweat amiss to any logical thought. She welcomed his weight, her fingers slick against his back, her body never wanting to leave his. But all too soon he pulled out and left her breathing out her heavy rush.

She was mentally preparing herself for the faked phone call, or maybe the claim of a business meeting. It'd be wrong to say she didn't expect it, and secretly she hoped it would come, better that they break before Oliver tries to slot his bachelor shape into a boyfriend position. They both knew how that would turn out. But as he came back with the blanket from the sofa and a glass of water for her she saw something else in his eyes, something that if she let herself believe she would say it was love.

She accepted the glass with thanks, trying to not be surprised as he settled down beside her, pulling her to his body shape and wrapping them both in the blanket. She fit to him like the gods had designed them together, and…dare she say, she felt comfortable. No awkward thought about escape plans, no need to rush out or shower him off. Oliver seemed just as content, his arm draped around her shoulder, his fingers absently drawing on her skin as his lips touched to her hair in a loving gesture. For endless minutes they just sat, perfectly content with each other. It was the laptop to break the peaceful silence, and both heads craned toward the beeping.

"It's finished the programme." Chloe noted and shuffled out from Oliver. He let her, watching her as she slipped naked from the blanket, pulling on the black panties from the floor before returning with the laptop. He rose an eyebrow.

"You'll be coming out of them pretty soon." He nodded at the skimpy black lace. God bless her; she blushed. "You're blushing." he successfully noted. She grinned and took back her position, pulling his arm to it's previous place across her shoulders as she let her fingers work magic assessing Tess's encoding of whatever files he stole.

He loved watching her work, the way she would chew her lip as things got tough, how the tip of her tongue would teasingly poke through her painted lips in the most professional of situations and all he could think of was stealing it for himself. Her fingers flew with keystrokes he didn't comprehend and he felt himself drawn by her powers again. Did she even realise how utterly seductive she was? His lips pressed to her naked shoulder, hands moving the soft tails of her hair and landing butterfly kisses up her neck. She squirmed out with a giggle, he just caught her again.

"Ollie. I can't work with you distracting me." she laughed.

"Then don't work." he simply suggested like it was so plainly obvious.

"Come on Ollie, _you need these files_." His kisses stopped and she turned back, not expecting such an easy yield. "What?" her smile faltered as he brushed her off.

"No, you're right… I only came for the files, right?" His arm lifted from her shoulder and she felt a cold dark empty fear crawl back to its hole inside her.

"Ollie… don't do this… com'on, we're just not the cuddling relationship people. Don't make it any more than what it was."

"No, I think what you mean is _**I'm**_ not the cuddly relationship person." He shrugged out from the blanket, the boxers on before she could appreciate the sight of his gloriously defined ass.

"Ollie…"

"No. I get it. You're the girlfriend type girl and you think I can't do that." Her guilt was all over her face, was she that easy to pin? Or was it easy because it was the truth that they both knew? "What's on the files Chloe?" He nodded as the computer beeped again. She shook herself back together, still feeling a little shell-shocked.

"Ummm, it's Lex's 33.1 sister projects. Hasn't been accessed since he died. Tess doesn't know about them." she answered out of habit and years of watchtower information work, knowing directly what Oliver wanted to know… but, the emotion was gone, she was just a ghost of herself. "Oliver…" But what was she going to say to patch this up.

He solved all her questions in four words filled with a strong determined barrier against emotion.

"Put some clothes on." Chloe blinked unmoving, watching his fingers as they scurried up his crumpled shirt. "Chloe. Go. Clothes." Obedience had her moving and dressing on autopilot. She scooped the black bra from the floor, shoving it back on as she stumbled into the bedroom dazed, her jeans in her other hand. As soon as she stepped into the war zone she recalled the disaster that was Andy. His memory was still fresh, but she needed new clothes, a blouse that wasn't see-through at best. Poking her head through to the bathroom, she saw Andy was still trapped in his cage safely and she shut the door again before jumping in the jeans and digging out a black tank top from the dresser.

She expected Oliver to be gone by the time she came back out, instead he was sitting at her small table, fully dressed and finger hugging a coffee mug.

"I thought you'd gone." she whispered to him, explaining the miniature shock at seeing him. He nodded.

"You're wrong."

"Clearly." she muttered and bee lined for the coffee maker. Oliver cut in her path, passing her the other cup he'd pre-made.

"No. I mean _you're wrong_. I'm not going anywhere Chloe. I'm not some billionaire playboy anymore. I want you, and not just every so often when I please. I want to wake up with you, spend afternoons walking the beach hand in hand like the perfect cliché, and evenings with you in my ear guiding me down the dark streets of metropolis. Nights with you in my bed in my arms."

"Ol-"

"Chloe. You were never just one night for me, and you should know that. I said I wasn't letting you go after this and I damn well mean it." Chloe couldn't even bring the mug to her lips, not for the taste of brilliant the rich creamy scent promised, not for all the money in the world. "You don't believe me do you… alright." He set down the mug and walked towards her bedroom. "You best drink that fast." He shot over his shoulder before his disappeared. She hadn't even thought of the coffee before he came back out with the cube filled with a very much alive and angry Andy. She'd half expected him to suffocate if she'd been honest. Her fear spiked against and her hips hit the counter as she shot backwards.

"Ollie, what the hell you-" Her eyes locked with the fingers that were held over the lid of Andy's cage. "Oliver Queen. You dare!" she hissed, picking up on his brain waves.

"You're coming home with me Chloe." he announced.

"Oliver Queen. You absolutely dare and I will have my sick revenge however I please. Rumour, virus's, media attention. Hell, I'm not above blurting out your secret to the entire world."

"As long as you believe how madly and deeply I mean every word I say to you. You are not just one night for me Chloe. You're forever."

"Put the spider down Oliver." Her heart was galloping in her chest, threatening the great escape as much as Andy was.

"You'll give us a chance? No running away when things get serious?" he asked, his hands slithering from the lid and toward safety. Chloe could physically feel her pulse slow as he moved further from danger.

"Fine. Fine… Put Andy down and I'm all yours. Promise I'll give you a real chance." Could it be she's forced into the very dream she wanted? The carriage may have popped back to mushy pumpkin stew, but this prince was determined to slide the glass slipper on her foot. It helped greatly that she held its matching twin in her hand. Could it be fate? He seemed to want her as much as she wanted him. Was all she needed a deathly dangerous nudge?

Oliver put the box on the counter, stepping back from it, hand held high. Slowly he drifted around the counter. Chloe balled her fists, pounding him in the chest once before accepting his hug. "I hate you." she hissed against his solid chest.

"Won't be long before you love me." He smiled cockily and took her chin in his palm, lifting and claiming her lips. God if she didn't love him already she'd have pounded him to the floor, never mind size difference or fighting ability, she would have found a way.

"If you ever use Andy against me again, I will shoot to kill." she warned. He chuckled and silenced her with another kiss.

"Apologies. Now grab your laptop and stand outside goldilocks."

"Ollie?" His expression held a darker smile that she didn't want to question. Grabbing the laptop and charger she hustled outside, hugging them to her chest, then watched in shock as Oliver took the lid from Andy's cage. "Ollie! You promised!"

"I promised I'd put Andy _down_. Besides I have a good reason for my actions."

"Care to share with the rest of the murderous class?" she hissed, her eyes locked on the scurrying fiend intent on making a getaway across any floor that would carry him.

"I'm making sure you don't run off home before I've got a ring on your finger." Her pulse was pounding and she didn't know if it was excitement or fear. Maybe a large chunk of both.

"Hurry the hell up, then." she hissed, her eyes still trained on the adaptive 6 legged terrorist. It occurred to her seconds later her words had double meaning. Hurry with the ring? Or so the spider wouldn't get out? Hell, she didn't even know herself.

"Wait. Forgot something." He chuckled and ducked from view. Seconds later he was back, his plundered treasure in his gleeful hands, a cheeky grin claiming his features.

"I really don't think we'll be needing that…" she stated, glancing over the box she clearly recognised from under her bed.

"Call me curious." he told her, letting the apartment door shut Andy in behind him and capturing her lips again.

"I'll call you whatever I like. Right now it's '_hurry the hell up and get me home before Andy eats through the door and follows us_'." she hissed and nudged him into moving with a shoulder. "Oh, and you owe me a new wardrobe. There's no way I'm going back in there." Oliver had no objection, especially with her quick reference to 'home' with him just barely after she'd left her own.

"Anything you want darling. Starting with a viewing of the backseat of my car maybe?"

"Considering what you just put me through I hope you can deliver on that promise."

Oliver chuckled and with her box of goodies under one arm, her cuddled her close with the other.

A hero's work is never done.

**The End**

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><p>Review if you feel it.<p>

Xx


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